With future uncertain, Peppers gives another opponent fits

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With every passing week, Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers continues to show what a force he can be.

Sadly for the Panthers, that show might end after one more game. But after yet another dominant performance by his big-ticket teammate, linebacker Jon Beason said he thinks this season might have affected Peppers' thoughts about his future.

“Absolutely,” Beason said when asked if this season might have changed things for the franchised defensive end. “I think any time you're rolling, you're winning games, you want to come back. I mean last year, you're 12-4, you're rolling until the bad playoff game.

“It's hard saying that when you've got a losing record, but going forward, everything's positive.”

Peppers had yet another monster game, continuing a trend of them.

He had another sack, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery in the Panthers' 41-9 win over the New York Giants.

The sack gave him 10.5 for the year, the sixth time in eight seasons with the Panthers he's reached double digits. He has 81 for his career, trailing only Jason Taylor and Dwight Freeney in that category since joining the league.

“It's something that I'm proud of,” Peppers said. “I can't say I didn't want to get it. I'm happy I accomplished that goal. It's not really a big deal, but it's something I can say I did, I guess.”

But it's the changes Peppers is making with his pass rush that has been a big deal. For all their recent success creating turnovers (17 in the last five games), the Panthers to a man say the pressure they are getting from the front line has been key.

“I'm proud of how we're playing,” Peppers said. “We've been getting better. I think we've been playing well the whole season really, but these last two weeks we've really been effective. That speaks for the job the coaches are doing getting us prepared, as well as the players executing the game plan we're told to do.”

Peppers had one of the Panthers' four sacks Sunday, along with Beason and defensive ends Charles Johnson and Tyler Brayton.

“It's really been a group effort,” Beason said. “Other guys are getting pressure, which allows him to get one-on-ones. And everyone knows it's hard to stop Julius one-on-one.”

Of course, the Panthers only have one more game of him under contract, as his one-year, $16.7 million franchise tender expires after next week's game against New Orleans.

They could tag him again at a cost of more than $20 million, and in an uncapped 2010, there's always that chance. Talks toward a long-term contract broke down last summer before training camp, and the Panthers have a short window to negotiate again before this year's deadline to use the tag a second time.

There was a funny moment in the Panthers' locker room when Peppers was asked his thoughts on the future of coach John Fox. “I don't have any comment on that,” he replied.

Asked then about his own future, Peppers said: “I don't have any comment on that, either.”

Beason said he has long supported his friend's ability to make as much as possible, knowing he's going to feel the business side of things soon himself.

“We don't know if he's going to be here,” Beason said of Peppers. “Do I want 90 on my team? I think all 32 teams would say they want Julius Peppers on their team. Is there anything I can do? l don't know.

“The business side is going to take care of itself. Obviously, he's going to be high demand after this year, and I hope to see him in a Carolina Panther uniform.”

The middle linebacker is one of the few players Peppers stayed in touch with through last offseason, and they have talked at length about their futures in Charlotte.

That's why Beason thinks there's a chance that Peppers might take a softer stance than last year, when he said in no uncertain terms he didn't want to come back. Whether that was a ploy to get to free agency or a sincere desire to relocate is unclear, but those were his words.

“I think, first off, Julius wants to be a champ,” Beason said. “I know that because he's told me that — ‘I want to win it all.' To come out of the draft, you can land anywhere, he could have been anywhere. But he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers, and he gave great effort since he's been here. He's a Pro Bowler. He's the face of the franchise, the biggest name to ever play in the uniform.

“When you get to be a free agent, you get to decide. It's your choice to decide to move on, because you didn't have that coming out. If he wants to move on, we're friends and brothers first before business. Do I want him here? Absolutely, but the business part of it is out of my hands.”